Mustang Daily

Issue date: 4/19/06 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: Jonathan Saalfeld

Media Credit: Jonathan Saalfeld

Everyone needs the occasional fine dining experience, and in Louisville, an excellent option is Vincenzo's downtown. The dishes are all Italian, but luckily all dishes had an English explanation for those diners who forgot their Italian-English dictionary.

The Wednesday night dinner crowd was sparse, but included former Miss America Heather French Henry and her husband, former Lt. Governor Steve Henry. You never know who you'll be seated next to at Vincenzo's; past diners include everyone from Al Pacino to Sandra Bullock to Hillary Clinton to Mikhail Gorbachev.

We were seated immediately at an elegant table next to the world's foremost expert on cars. (That is a joke; actually we were seated next to an annoying jackass who had apparently driven a different car to nearly every spot on the globe.) This was likely the only negative experience of the evening.

Being hungry, we skipped the appetizers and jumped right into the entrees. The first member of our party ordered the Spaghetti All'Aragosta. This was spaghetti with lobster, sun-dried tomatoes and asparagus tips ($29.95). They were surprised when the dish arrived with an entire lobster tail on top, rather than pieces of lobster meat. It was very good, although the portion was not huge.

We also ordered the Pesce Spada Con Capperie Olive Schiacciate ($26.95), which is grilled swordfish with capers and crushed olives in a fish fume sauce. The sauce could have been slightly more flavorful, but nonetheless, it was very good. The baked potato served alongside was for show; however, because it was nearly bite size.

The final member of our party ordered the Filetto Ripieno ($29.95). This dish was beef tenderloin stuffed with Stilton cheese and wild mushrooms in a dry vermouth peppercorn sauce. This was excellent and very flavorful.

For dessert, the waiter brings the dessert cart to the table and shows the party exactly what they have to choose from. Each of the five desserts looked very good, but if you're going to eat at an Italian restaurant, you have to order the tiramisu. This huge piece of cake was very rich, but very good.

We also tried the white chocolate cake, which might have been even richer than the tiramisu. If you have dessert, make sure to order a cup of coffee, because you'll need something to drink. Both desserts however, were extremely good. The coffee was also some of the best we've ever had at a restaurant.

If you want to enjoy a fine dinner out sometime this year and you like Italian, Vincenzo's is a strong choice. Located at 150 South Fifth Street, in downtown Louisville, you can make a reservation by calling (502) 580-1350.

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